Nathan Young
Nathan Young is a fictional character from the television series Misfits. He is portrayed by Robert Sheehan. Characterization Nathan is outspoken, rude, mischievous and morally flexible, and has a habit of verbally abusing everyone around him - even people that he cares for. He is self-absorbed, selfish, impulsive and incapable of taking anything short of a direct attempt on his life seriously. Even when in the most ludicrous and dangerous situations, he'll take time out to make a wisecrack. Naturally, Nathan's abrasive personality means that he's often the subject of others' ridicule and abuse. However, he almost completely lacks the capacity to feel embarrassment, shame or emotional pain from such attacks and will quite happily shrug them off. It's suggested several times by various characters that his personality flaws might be the result of some kind of mental illness, and its roots probably lie in the fact that he grew up as a single child with an emotionally distant father who left him with his mother when he was a child. Certainly, he jealously guards his mum, going so far as to falsely claim that her boyfriends have sexually abused him - as mentioned in Episode Two. Despite all of these traits, Nathan is not an inherently bad person. After realising how happy his mother's new boyfriend, Jeremy, made her he called a truce with him, and he also made an effort to reconnect with his father. Also - possibly as a result of his father's poor parenting - Nathan has a huge affection for babies and toddlers and jumped at the chance to be a step-father in Episode 7. Powers Like the rest of the misfits, Nathan's power reflects an aspect of his personality: his apparent imperviousness to hurtful comments manifests in immortality - he literally cannot die by any means, including physical trauma or starvation. He can even come back from being shot in the head. However, his healing ability only works after he's died. As such, one character was able to give him a stroke, rendering him permanently paralysed though this was later undone by Curtis. While the rest of the Misfits discover their powers on the day after the storm, Nathan's doesn't surface until when he is killed after accidentally falling from a rooftop. He regains consciousness days after his funeral, only to find that he is trapped inside his coffin underground, left with his iPod, which Kelly placed in his hand prior to burial. However his power is hinted at in Episode Four. In this episode, Curtis accidentally creates an alternate timeline in which Tony murdered the misfits - except for Nathan who was 'half dead' when paramedics found him. The fact that his wounds are not fully healed suggests that he didn't die completely (and thus begin the regenerative process) before he was rescued. Nathan's resurrection didn't go down well with his family - his mother fainted (and, if Nathan is to be believed, hurt her face badly) after he arrived at her door unannounced, and his father was furious after Nathan claimed that his death had just been an insurance scam. Nathan sold his immortality to Seth in Episode 7; it's unknown what new power he will acquire for the third series. Biography Nathan was born and grew up in Ireland, largely raised by his mother Louise as his father Mike was very distant. He was raised as a Catholic. It seems that Mike also got another woman pregnant at around this time, leading to the birth of Nathan's half-brother Jamie, although Mike chose to stay with Louise and Nathan rather than Jamie and his mother. Eventually, however, Mike left them as well and remained a shadowy figure in his son's life - even leaving Nathan by himself for three hours after 'treating' him to a birthday visit to Ikea. Nathan was looked after by a paedophile but found before he could be hurt; his father subsequently forgot all about this awful mistake. Prior to the series starting, Nathan had some trouble at home when his mother began a serious relationship with Jeremy. Nathan made it his mission to badger, cajole, bully and aggravate Jeremy to the point that his mother eventually threw him out of the house, choosing her boyfriend over her own son. Also, while out with some friends (who, it is implied, don't particularly like him much), Nathan stole some pick 'n' mix sweets and soft drinks from a bowling alley. He subsequently aggravated the manager to the point that the police were called; this is the reason he is doing community service at the start of the series. For the first two seasons Nathan lives inside the Community Centre, initially as a result of his mother throwing him out of the house, but later of his own volition - after making peace with Jeremy he decides that his mother will only be able to have a proper relationship if he stays away from the house. Despite this, his status as 'a homeless' worries him considerably. Despite his strong dislike for Mike, his father (a flashback in Episode Four reveals that Nathan elected to do community service rather than have his father pay for the damage he'd caused), Nathan appears to regret having such a troubled relationship with him. In Episode 2 he tries to get his brother, Jamie, to reconcile with their father as a way of making up for his own emotional failures. After Jamie's accidental death, however, Nathan manages a partial reconciliation with Mike. In Episode 7 Nathan meets Marnie, a single mother with a similarly flippant attitude. The two strike up a sexual relationship but Nathan quickly becomes more and more enthused about the idea of being a father to her child (she has no idea who the biological father is). He and the other Misfits eventually help her give birth. Afterwards, in a scene reminiscent of the Nativity of Jesus, Nathan leads the group in singing 'Little Donkey' to the baby before placing him in a manger. The moment is slightly ruined, however, when he mistakes the afterbirth for an 'alien baby' and, in a panic, stamps on it. Relationship with the Misfits Nathan's relationship with the other misfits is initially purely antagonistic, though a mutual attraction between him and Kelly leads to a brief romantic fling which she calls off as she sees him as more of a cousin than a boyfriend. Nevertheless he clearly continues to feel something for her, as he tries to protect her when her relationship with Bruno goes sour and attempts to avenge her death in an alternate timeline. Nathan's relationship with Simon also improves as the series progresses. Having identified him as the outcast, Nathan initially bullies him relentlessly, referring to him as 'weird kid' and similar names. However, the two grow closer in the second season, as Nathan reveals a somewhat merciful side to his personality; after Simon finally stands up for himself, recounting all of the hurtful remarks which Nathan has aimed at him and concluding that in spite of it all he "just wants to be friends", Nathan seems to acquire a measure of respect for him. After this encounter Nathan begins looking out for Simon in his own way (such as suggesting hiring him a prostitute to "get his confidence up") and Simon in return begins laughing more freely at his jokes and even attempting (though often failing) to replicate them. Nathan also seems to have developed an odd friendship with him, as he admits to Alisha that he likes Simon, attempts to protect him from Jessica, and enthusiastically congratulates Simon for losing his virginity. Three months later, after Simon has gained more confidence, Nathan comments jokingly that he preferred him when he "suffered from a crippling shyness". Nathans relationship with Alisha is a changing one. In many cases Nathan has made Alisha laugh and in most cases they work well together. Alisha however denies being his friend on multiple cases. External Links * http://www.e4.com/misfits/characters/nathan.html Series 3 Profile on the official E4 Misfits site * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Misfits_characters#Nathan_Young Wikipedia information * http://twitter.com/#!/nathanmisfits Nathan's Twitter profile Category:Characters Category:Main Characters